In an move plainly geared to expanding into consumer and small business markets, Macromedia announced the immediate availability of Breeze Live. The product was announced last year, but has until now been used exclusively by large corporations like Federal Express, SBC, American Express, and TicketMaster.

Macromedia believes that smaller businesses, if provided access to the same features employed by enterprise customers, can create the illusion of added size. Tom Hale, Macromedia's vice president of communications, said that to the outside world, "a small business can appear bigger."

Hale elaborated on the business logic that supports the advantages for a company to look larger. "When you visit a small business," he said, "the two places they spend money on are the lobby and the conference room. Now they can also have the Web presence of a larger company."

Macromedia has been mining the consumer and SMB markets of late, so offering Breeze Live is not surprising. What is unique about Macromedia Breeze Live is the pricing system. The company is offering the platform for 32-cents-per-user-minute in a pay-as-you-go pricing model, similar to those being offered by mobile phone providers. Macromedia will also be offering 5- and 10-seat plans for about $75 a month for unlimited meetings.

It is hoped that once customers begin using the product, they will want to maintain their new 'meeting rooms.' To this end, once an account is established there is no need to setup new configurations for each use. Breeze Live eases the work ordinarily called for when setting up meetings. Users can add content and programs ahead of time, rather than being made to orchestrate various audio and visual components as a meeting progresses. To join a Breeze Live meeting, attendees need only click on a Web link. Meeting participants can also share live content and make real-time changes.

Macromedia feels that SMB's make ideal users, since the product is based on Flash technology, which is installed on most computers. Businesses that already use key products like DreamWeaver, Director, and Fireworks, Macromedia expects, will be drawn to Breeze Live, as it is the last hurdle a SMB needs to cross in attempting to appear as having the stature enterprise systems presumably convey.